AP Source: Yates troubled that law disadvantaged Muslims

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, fired by President Donald Trump, has told others she refused to enforce his executive order on refugees because she felt it was intended to disadvantage Muslims, according to a person familiar with her thinking.

Yates knew that her firing was likely, but she did not want to resign and leave the problem unresolved, according to the person, who is familiar with the situation but was not authorized to discuss it by name. The person spoke about Yates to the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Trump fired Yates Monday in a move that has sent a message to his future Cabinet about his tolerance for public dissent.

The president will soon have in place like-minded political appointees, not officials inherited from the Obama administration such as Yates, who refused to allow the Justice Department to defend his immigration orders in court.

But his haste in firing a top holdover official, his spokesman’s admonishment that career employees should “either get with the program or go” and Trump’s comments about issues he wants federal prosecutors to investigate all illustrate how he moves aggressively to ensure his directives are carried out, even at agencies such as the Justice Department that cherish their independence.

Over the decades, there has “been respect for the independence of the Justice Department as a law enforcement agency,” said Bill Baer, a high-ranking department official during the Obama administration.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Yates was “rightfully removed” from “a position of leadership that is given to someone who is supposed to execute orders that are handed down to them properly.”

While every American has the right to express an opinion, he said, the attorney general is “required to execute lawful orders.”